News Blog

It’s beginning to look a lot like a difficult holiday for Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren.

Screenshots of Facebook messages between someone claiming to be Warren and an unidentified user began circulating on social media on Monday. The unknown user criticizes the city for emptying out a settlement that was being used by the homeless, calling the mayor and the mayor’s office “a joke.”

“Lovely Ann Warren” responds by blaming advocates for the homeless for forcing people to live in unsanitary, unsafe conditions.

“I’ll tell them to put tents on your front lawn and use he (sic) bathroom where you have to walk and see what happens,” the message from Warren’s account says. “Stay in your lane and let me worry about my city. You don’t live here anyways.”

“Stay in your lane” quickly became a hashtag and a Twitter meme.

But the post did not come from Warren, a city spokesperson says, and Warren is investigating the origin. Several people have access to Warren’s official and personal accounts, the spokesperson says. Both of Warren’s Facebook accounts were suspended Monday until further notice.